Budget FY27 to boost farmers' income, strengthen cooperatives: NDDB Chairman

Budget proposals related to agriculture and allied sectors would boost farmers income and strengthen the cooperative movement in the country, National Dairy Development Board NDDB Chairman Meenesh Shah has said. The NDDB Chairman said the budget would provide impetus to agriculture, dairy and allied sectors, improving capital efficiency, reducing tax distortions across cooperatives and thereby, boosting farmers incomes and employment opportunities.

Budget proposals related to agriculture and allied sectors would boost farmers' income and strengthen the cooperative movement in the country, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Chairman Meenesh Shah has said. On Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a comprehensive package for the livestock, fisheries and high-value agriculture sectors in the Budget 2026-27. The total allocation for agriculture and allied activities is Rs 1,62,671 crore for the next fiscal, a 7 per cent increase from the revised estimate of Rs 1,51,853 crore for 2025-26. In a statement, Shah described the Budget as ''truly transformative'' and said it would ''enhance farmers' incomes, promote entrepreneurship in animal husbandry and dairying and strengthen cooperatives''. The animal husbandry sector has received a significant boost in the Union Budget 2026–27, with an allocation of Rs 6,153.46 crore - up 16 per cent from last year, he said. ''In addition to the existing provision allowing full deduction of profits and gains for primary cooperative societies engaged in supplying milk, oilseeds, fruits, or vegetables raised by their members, this benefit has now been extended to cattle feed,'' Shah said. With primary cooperatives selling about 102 lakh metric tons of cattle feed annually, he said this move will significantly reduce their tax burden, ensuring better returns for farmer members. ''India's dairy cooperatives already return over 75 per cent of the consumer rupee to producers, and this initiative will further enhance pay-outs, putting more money directly into farmers' hands,'' Shah said. The NDDB Chairman said the budget would provide impetus to agriculture, dairy and allied sectors, improving capital efficiency, reducing tax distortions across cooperatives and thereby, boosting farmers' incomes and employment opportunities.

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